Our 17 Month Old

sweet girl found this bench in our dining room - it's from when I was a little girl - it's on it's way to the garage for Austin to paint for her play room!

silly diva! Austin called me to come to the entryway - he had wrapped her up after bath and put her sunglasses on - I found her like this!

Our life these days - her riding on toys and me pushing her - she's getting this close to operating everything but I definitely prefer the ones she can ride along solo!

giving her dolly a pacifier while eating a snack and holding a pair of pants of course

Making breakfast with mommy; she has my play eggs from when I was little and loves to "cook" alongside me in the Learning Tower

Love this profile shot of our sweet girl at the end of a long day on the lake - still has sunscreen in hair!

Washing dishes with mama

Trying to smile while eating her pouch!

playing dress up

getting ready to conquer the pool - gotta have some goldfish first

celebrating the 4th of July with sweet friend John

trying her poppa paul's chocolate biscuits for the first time! naked of course - they were messy and it was hot!

I have kind of gotten away from doing the weekly likes and dislikes - eek! It's just all I can do to keep up with the pictures these days! I thought about waiting until 18 months to do a post on little Becks and the latest and greatest but thought I'd put together a little list now as she is truly getting more and more fun every day!

Likes:

• Her stacking rings - oh my - she is a big fan of putting each ring on. She doesn't do them in order yet but can do them all by herself over and over and over now!
• Tea parties; you can ask her to get the tea pot and tea cups and she'll go find them and bring them to you and pour your a drink and practice "pretend" drinking from her tea pot
• Stacking blocks - she is up to about 4 on her own and is VERY proud of herself when she gets it higher and higher. It's adorable.
• Climbing - still very into this even though it gives us a lot of anxiety as we can turn our back for 2 seconds and she's scaled an end table to get to a chair to stand on a chair and say, "Hi!"
• Waving - she's VERY social and likes to walk around and say hi and wave to everyone whether we're at a restaurant, the grocery store, gym, etc. - there is no one who doesn't get a greeting from her. People are always telling us how friendly and happy she is which makes our day.
• Sharing - she likes to see other kids play with what she was playing with - it's like she's looking for a new way to use it. And if a kid drops their toy, she'll chase after them to return it - very cute.
• Sliding - we got her a new slide and she climbs the ladder and goes down all by herself
• Gardening - she can't get enough of the backyard and is always asking to go out (by banging on the back door and pointing!); this is after she gets her 'outside water shoes' and hands them to you, sits down and puts her feet up for you to put them on.
• Shoes & Socks - obsessed. She wants to wear yours, her own, help you put yours on, take hers on and off - this is her favorite game.
• Her Kitchen - she is getting better at using her pans and spatula and keeping them balanced with "food" inside.
• Books - she can now frequently be found reading books on her own - just sitting, flipping pages, and pointing.
• Her Shopping Cart & Purse - she loves pushing it around the house and collecting everything, including our stuff. She likes to wear a purse while doing so - especially her new blue and yellow one from Aunt Missy that we fill with "credit cards" (hotel keys); "keys" (toy keys) and more
• Her Learning Tower- before she was fine to stay in her toy kitchen while I used the real kitchen - now she also likes to see what i'm doing in the real kitchen which means me carrying her while trying to cook = dangerous! Austin restored The Learning Tower from Devon & Zach and now she stands in it and "helps" wash and dry dishes, make meals, etc. I am making little kits for her (e.g., breakfast, lunch) so that when I am making eggs for instance she is too with her toy eggs, pan, spatula, etc.).
• The Pool - a month ago I couldn't write this down, but on the 4th of July we had a big turning point and she now likes to get in the water, splash around, "swim" (on her belly, you motoring her around while she kicks her legs), doing 1, 2, 3 from the side to be dunked in the water, having her head dunked in, etc.
• Eating - thankfully she is still a really good eater and eats everything we eat. Yes, she doesn't love everything, but most everything which definitely makes our lives easier. Current favorites are steak, green beans, watermelon, gold fish, and banana + peach pouches we make for her.
• Hiding - she is very into taking things out of the cabinet and getting inside, or playing inside her pop-up castle and coming in and out.
• Being Chased - she loves when you chase her, hide from her, jump out, etc.
• Movies - her favorite 'long car ride movies' include Frozen, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and The Beast - she loves anything Disney with lots of music!
• The Dogs - she loves petting them, picking things up from around the house and tossing them over into their "room" (our bathroom) and letting them outside
• Her Big Wheel - she likes to stand and push it or sit on it and be pushed - her little feet don't reach the pedals just yet!
• Playing dress up - she loves to try to put on my shorts, sports bras, swimsuit tops, hats, sunglasses - you name it - she has even worn my furry vest much to her delight!
• Overall, she just LOVES to play, lights up when she sees other people, loves to sing (and loves books that sing to her like her pooh book).

Dislikes

• Diaper changes
• Clothing changes, although she is getting better as she likes to help put her arms in and what not as we lock down learning these body parts
• Being put down for naps
• Hard-boiled eggs, grapes (doesn't seem to care for them much), fish (she'll eat salmon but doesn't seem to love it), and tortillas (won't eat them at all)

What We're Working On

• Animal sounds (what does the cow say?!)
• Body Parts (belly button has always been her favorite; she can also do hands and feet but refuses to point to anything on her face - ugh - uphill battle!)
• all vocabulary of course - she can easily go get things you ask for (plate, banana, cup, puzzle, doll, cart) and can follow instructions (open, close, put inside, take out, sit, come here) but she doesn't say a lot of the words yet!
• eating with a fork and spoon - she loves to hold them while she eats, but seems to prefer eating with her hands still!

Here's a few more pics I haven't posted before! :)

trying fro yo for the first time with dad

wearing her purse from Aunt Missy - she loves it - it velcros shut and I'm always finding new stuff in it!

yes, her clothes are soaking wet as she has already climbed the ladder and done the slide into a pool of water - I thought we had emptied it - oops!

With  Austin & Uncle Andy on the 4th of July - the day she decided she loved the pool! Perhaps the water is finally hot enough for her? I dunno - but we'll take it!

Back on the couch again, this time in her new 4th of July outfit - every time she saw it she would squeal and go sit on it! Can't wait until it's ready for her room - need to find a cushion for it!